Parent Behavioral Training for Child Noncompliance: Rationale, Concepts, and Effectiveness

No! Is there a word more famil iar to parents of toddlers? Indeed, not only do all children learn to say no to their parents, doing so is considered a normal characteristic of the developing 2to 3-year-old. Moreover, saying no may even be an expression of a toddler's emerg ing sense of identity, self-regulation, and independence.1 However, for some families, what begins as appar ently age-appropriate behavior de velops into a severe and unmanage able problem. In such cases, parents feel frustrated, helpless, and ineffec tive as their children become more and more defiant and oppositional. Such children refuse to follow direc tions and rules set by parents, by teachers, and by other adults. In short, these children are continually noncompliant, consistently refusing to initiate or complete actions re quested by other people.2 Noncompliance is perhaps the most common complaint of parents in general and is the most frequent presenting complaint among chil dren referred to clinics for treatment